Violence Against Women Act re-introduced to Senate

“This life-saving legislation should be a top priority of the new 113th Congress,” Leahy said in a statement. “It is our hope that the Senate will act quickly to pass this strong, bipartisan bill to help all victims of domestic and sexual violence.”

The VAWA, first passed in 1994, seeks to aid women who are the victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Though the Senate passed legislation to reauthorize the VAWA with bipartisan support last year, the bill encountered opposition from House Republicans over the addition of protections for immigrants, Native Americans, and members of the LGBT community.